Beijing’s city government recommended that its 20 million
residents stay indoors for a second day as the local
environmental monitoring center gave today’s air quality the
worst rating on its six-level scale. A U.S. Embassy pollution
monitor showed air quality in the Chinese capital reached
hazardous levels for a fifth consecutive day.

Companies across Beijing have sought to protect the health
of their current employees while facing the prospect of
increasing difficulties in attracting others to a city grappling
with pollution levels that Li Keqiang, set to become China’s
next premier, has said will take time to reduce.

“Over the next few years the quality of life in Beijing
will be something that has an impact on salaries,” said Simon
Lance, Shanghai-based regional director at Hays Plc. The company
has previously helped JPMorgan, Barclays Plc, and other
companies with hiring, according to its website.

The concentration of PM2.5, the fine air particulates that
pose the greatest human health risk, was 251 micrograms per
cubic meter at 5 p.m., compared to 302 at 10 a.m., according to
the U.S. Embassy monitoring station. The PM2.5 reading near
Tiananmen Square was 272 at 6 p.m. and had averaged 260 in the
past 24 hours, according to the Beijing Municipal Environmental
Monitoring Center. The World Health Organization recommends 24-hour exposure to PM2.5 of no higher than 25.

Shanghai Haze

Shanghai issued a haze warning today, advising those with
respiratory problems to avoid going outdoors. The concentration
of PM2.5 in the municipality was at 211 at 5 p.m. and averaged
about 223 in the past 24 hours, according to the Shanghai
Environmental Monitoring Center.

Toyota has put more green plants in its Beijing offices to
help with air quality, spokesman Liu Peng said by phone. The
carmaker’s offices, opened in October and home to about 400
workers, are equipped with one air purifier for every two
workstations, Liu said.

JPMorgan has provided health tips and distributed emergency
kits that include masks to its employees in Beijing, spokeswoman
Lisa Liang said by e-mail. The bank’s management is closely
monitoring the situation and “exploring other options,” she
said.

Honda has provided face masks to about 100 staff at its
China headquarters in Beijing, Zhu Linjie, its Beijing-based
spokesman said by phone.

Face Masks

At Apple’s retail store on Beijing’s Xidan Avenue, just
four of the outlet’s more than four dozen sales people were
wearing face masks today. Spokeswoman Carolyn Wu confirmed by
phone that the maker of iPhones and iPads had distributed masks
to its workers in the city, where the company has three stores.

None of the workers at the nearby Hennes & Mauritz AB,
Adidas AG and Fast Retailing Co. outlets were wearing masks.
Fast Retailing will consider appropriate action in the future if
necessary, the maker of the Uniqlo clothing brand said in an e-mail.

Pollution Deaths

Elevated PM2.5 levels contributed to 8,572 premature deaths
in the cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Xian last
year, according to a study released by Greenpeace and Peking
University’s School of Public Health. Beijing this month
proposed rules that would increase fines for vehicle emissions
and force more factory shutdowns when smog reaches dangerous
levels, as officials stepped up efforts to fight pollution.

China should strengthen efforts to conserve energy and
uphold its environmental responsibilities, according to
statement today following a State Council meeting chaired by
Premier Wen Jiabao.

The nation seeks to control energy consumption at around 4
billion tons of standard coal equivalent a year in 2015,
according to the statement. The National Development and Reform
Commission said in May the limits will be within 4.1 billion
tons for the five years within 2011 to 2015.

Beijing’s pollution has the potential to “discourage”
senior executives from moving to the Chinese capital and to
prompt those already here to leave, said Lance of Hays.

“Beijing as an international city will be compared with
other international cities,” Lance said in a Jan. 22 interview.